


one more drink for the road

by jonphaedrus



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Age Difference, Alcohol, Background Relationships, Dysfunctional Relationships, M/M, Unresolved Sexual Tension, no betas we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-14
Updated: 2012-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-21 20:48:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30027663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jonphaedrus/pseuds/jonphaedrus
Summary: "I need a drink.""I need two drinks.""I need a bottle."
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character





	one more drink for the road

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Lovers That Went Wrong](https://archiveofourown.org/works/480729) by [Lapin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lapin/pseuds/Lapin). 



> repost of fic originally only ever posted on tumblr, the lnk to which is now defunct.

As much as Reza hated to admit it, at a certain point he really needed to go out and take a deep breath. Or ten.

That point came when he happened to see Hwan walking back from the bath in the house, long hair tied up in a towel on top of his head, wearing only a loose robe that was nothing near fully tied, revealing long, smooth legs, beautiful thighs, and a view half-way down his chest.

At that point, he needed to stop before he went way too far.

Which led to him being here.

Reza had gone by Zolt's place first, found it utterly deserted, grumbled, and gone walking again from there to Lieu's apartment. Five flights of stairs later and he banged on the door, good hand in his pocket, waiting until it swung to the chain, showing half of the Non-Bender's face, and then closed again, reopening fully a moment later.

Reza blinked.

Lieu had half a slice of raw meat pressed to his face and was scowling—he looked pretty pissed. And behind him, currently sitting naked except for his briefs with an icepack pressed between his legs and the other half of the slice of meat pressed to his face and looking even angrier was Zolt.

Lieu moved away from the door, going to go mess with his hot plate in the kitchen and trusting Reza to close the door behind him, he stared at Zolt, who stared back one-eyed. The man looked pretty resigned.

"He punched you?" Reza finally asked. The only person beside either himself or Lieu that he could think of as being able to even get a hit that hard on the older man was someone who had to be pretty damn close to get past his personal space. So…Shin.

"I deserved it," the two men said at once, and Reza stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. Twisting his entire head to look between his friends (Lieu slum-shouldered, resigned and tense and clearly still angry, Zolt naked—his clothes were hanging on a line stretched across the back of his room—and looking pretty furious with himself) and finally Reza laughed.

"I thought I had it bad today!"

Lieu grunted, picked up a teapot, brought it to the table, and practically threw himself into the chair, leaning on the elbow of the hand with the meat. "Seriously. I don't want to talk about it." There was a third chair, and Reza came over, taking it. Zolt reached out and poured for them all.

"At least he didn't kick you out of your own place."

"Point taken."

"Or drench you."

"That either."

"Or kick you in the nuts."

"I'm pretty sure he might've if he hadn't been so furious he wasn't thinking clearly." They all stared into their tea, and Reza groaned, rubbed his temple with his good hand.

"He was naked."

"If only," Zolt replied, groaning. Lieu grunted and tossed his meat slice onto the table—he had a hell of a shiner behind it already.

"I need a drink."

"I need two drinks," Reza stared into his teacup. He didn't normally, but sometimes you just had to.

"I need a bottle," Zolt groaned. "Let me put my clothes on."

Which was how they had ended up at the nearest, cheapest bar to Lieu's place, crammed into a booth together—Lieu and Zolt on one side, shoved like sardines onto one bench, Reza on the other side. One bottle of shared sake had turned into two and into three, and at some point in the night, long past when any of them was supposed to still be out here and not working, they had all had way too much to drink. Three empty bottles and they were all feeling it, Lieu totally deflated and slumped over the table, his face pressed into the top of it, Zolt with his head in his hands, looking a bit worse for wear, and Reza leaning back, head balanced on the top of the booth wall.

"I deserved it," Lieu said, finally, more into the table than to either of them. "He's got this…friend. Works as a whore. I can't think of the name right now."

"Oh hell Lieu," Reza groaned, "What the fuck did you say?"

"He's worried about this guy. Pissed off because he's close with some bruiser, didn't really give me details—made it out to be some huge dangerous asshole with nothing good in mind, but honestly…" Lieu trailed off. "Just sounds like someone like one of us. I mouthed off, he got pissed because I was talking about whores like they were…well, whores, and how he shouldn't be so worried when he's probably been selling himself so long, and then he hauled back and punched me and stormed out."

They were all quiet for a moment, and Lieu finally rolled more upright, still with his face on the table but now buried in his arms. "I don't know why he's so pissed about this. It's—for Spirits' sake, they're a whore. Nobody gives a shit."

"I do," Reza said, quietly. "Look, Lieu—quit acting like a shithead about that. You're not making any friends."

"I don't need any more friends, I have you two assholes and Amon." Lieu looked up at him, one eye still blackened. "I don't like whores. And I don't like the idea of you getting involved with one either."

"We're not involved," Reza snapped back, but it came out more indignant than he should have let it. "Lieu, we're kind of stuck with you, but being a bull-headed son of a bitch—my regards to your mother—if you lose him, it'll be your own damn fault." He recognised the name Amon distantly, but he couldn't place it to what. He was too drunk. "Hwan is just as much of a person as you are. Everybody in that house is. Quit treating them like shit."

Lieu stared at him, and then slumped slightly.

"Yeah, I know." His voice was muffled in his arms and the tabletop. "I'll apologise to Hwan the next time I see him, or something." He rubbed his temple with one thumb. "And…I'll apologise to Amon too, he still loves me but…I can be such a fucking asshole sometimes."

It got quiet between them all again. They ordered another bottle, and emptied that too. Four empty bottles of sake piled at the end of the table now.

"He's so young," Zolt said, staring down into his empty cup, chin pillowed on his hand. "I forget it sometimes. But he's just…Spirits, Shin's just sixteen. He's so stupid and so young and…."

"You're in love with him," Reza said, matter-of-factly.

"Not possible," Lieu put in. "I don't think this asshole can even fall in love."

"Nah," Reza waved his good hand. "Chang, you're stupidly in love. I remember that one time when we were teenagers and you fell head over heels for that dumpling lady and it was just like—"

"Shut the fuck up," Zolt said, kicking him good-naturedly under the table. Reza smirked at him. He sighed, exhausted. "Yeah, I know. I'm worried about him. He's good but he's cocky."

"And you aren't?" Lieu's voice was still muffled.

"You're not helping," Zolt grumbled. "He's stupid, there's the difference. You might be pretty fucking hard-headed but you're smart and you can take care of yourself. Reza doesn't need anybody watching him he can hand us all our asses on a fucking platter. I'm fine. But Shin…" He sighed. "He doesn't think. He's a teenager. It's just…do."

"You are way to eloquent for being this drunk," Reza finally said. "Seriously, what did you do."

"Told him I wasn't letting him go out on his own without someone else, he got pissed, froze my tongue to the roof of my mouth, screamed at me for about ten minutes, punched me, kicked me in the nuts, drenched me from the fountain and threw me out."

All three of them were silent.

"What the hell do you see in him anyway," Lieu said, finally.

"He's got a good sense of humour?" Zolt tried. Reza snorted.

"He'll get over it. He's stupid and sixteen. I can think of dumber things you did when you were sixteen. Apologise and explain why you did it."

"Since when did you get to be this good at relationship shit," Zolt grumbled.

"Since I was more sober than you."

"Fuck off," the other Firebender shoved him under the table, but he was smiling anyway. It got quiet again, silence running long, and a fifth bottle of sake was ordered.

By the time it was done Zolt was looking a bit green around the gills, Lieu had basically fallen over, and Reza's head was pounding, he hadn't had this much to drink in years. The other two were looking at him, Lieu from over where his head was pillowed on his arm on the table, Zolt with bloodshot eyes, leaning on the wall.

"What the fuck did you do," Zolt finally asked. Reza grunted. Lieu rolled his eyes.

"He's a whore, why do you care so much."

"He's…" Reza trailed off, staring at the ceiling. They were all so drunk that he couldn't even remember what it was like to be sober any more. His mouth felt like cotton. Finally he managed to get the words into his head. "I love him. And I shouldn't."

They were all quiet. It was one thing to think it, to realise it, without having anything to really back it up. Reza could feel Zolt and Lieu watching him as the silence grew long and thin.

Finally, Lieu groaned and raised his arm to get the waiter's attention.

"I need another drink."

Reza did too.


End file.
